Holy cow Batman! If you haven't heard these words yet...THANK YOU for everything little call you are making, every letter, every tear...keep it up and stay strong! I can tell you are going up against some major .... and here are some words of encouragement...

Promise yourself...
*To be so strong that nothing can distrub your peace of mind.
*To look at the sunny side of everthing and make your optimism come true.
*To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
*To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
*To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.
*To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Hang in there, we are cheering for you and may the force be with you! [img]smile.gif[/img]

I invited the entire city council last March when I sent them a letter detailing the problem. I had one member return my call and join me. It didn't help. UPDATE-we have since contacted legal council with the state Board of Education. She said that since the school signed the petition accepting the assessment that they(the school) has done their part. However, she said we need to go to a city council meeting and formally(I guess my letter wasn't enough) inform them of the problem. She said they then must act with "reasonable care" in handling the situation. Basically, she said that once you notify them they MUST take care of the problem or they would be considered negligent if anything happened. Going on that information, one of the committee members contacted the city's attorney and let him in on the situation. He lives near the area, so he said he would take a litle trip down the street and check things out. I will be contacting the city manager today to set up another meeting with the school board and ask about getting on the next city council agenda. I'm also contacting an attorney I know to see if he can give us someone to handle some research on government and property issues. I had a long talk with the other lady who is doing most of the work with me and we basically decided to start moving on to the "next step" before we find out for sure that the current effort(the city finding money somewhere to take on a bigger chunk) fails. We're taking off the gloves!!

P.S. to KCSwan--I've already been asked by 2 people to run for school board next year. City council wouldn't like me because I'd vote "no" on too many of their stupid projects!

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Possibly spray paint crime scene "body outlines" into the road??<hr></blockquote>

Ooooooooh! Now that is an idea. It might be just a little bit over the top to begin with, but an excellent idea to keep on tap for later in the fight.

But that has me thinking, LMK, have you tried inviting the city council to walk to school one morning? With no local TV station, making sure the public knows about the invite could be a tough job. Perhaps the station 70 miles away could be induced to send a crew? Do you have local radio? What kind of newspaper coverage do you have in your town?

The idea being to get the word out "at 7:45am, on Tuesday, January 14, the Mayor and City Council are invited to join Elmwood Elementary parents in walking their children to school along 12th street." Be sure to time it so that you'll be walkikng when school buses come by. And if you can get any form of news coverage, be especially sure that the word gets out about who does and doesn't show up!

Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to make sure you'll have bad weather that day.

A radical comment.

Possibly spray paint crime scene "body outlines" into the road??

With a message saying "what will it take? the death of a child for something to be done?"

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<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Do you know anyone in the "concrete" business...Can a large company, like your nearest Walmart help sponsor the sidewalk?<hr></blockquote>

Whoa! Slow down, Lisa. We're losing focus on LMK's issue.

Go back to the first message: the problem is that it is not just a sidewalk. When it was just a sidewalk, there were property owners willing to pay. The problem is the storm sewer and street upgrades necessary before a sidewalk can be installed -- more specifically, the very expensive cost of doing those upgrades.

The "Wal*Mart sidewalk" may be an idea with some validity. However, the support level you could get will be just a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of the entire project. The cost of the upgrades without a sidewalk would be almost the same as the cost of the upgrades with a sidewalk. The sidewalk is relatively nothing compared to the cost of the infrastructure necessary to have a sidewalk.

Good luck LMK, but be careful. If you're too successful, somebody might suggest you ought to run for a seat on the city council.

Do you know anyone in the "concrete" business. Or perhaps if you contacted a couple you can get a great deal. Perhaps just at cost. I know your frustration, but a sidewalk is not on their list of priorities. Keep at it. Get your moms to write letters/emails to your council and board. Its true that if you get your sidewalk, someone else's project will get put aside. So don't be too hard on the nay-sayers. Their cause is worthy, too I'm sure.
Can a large company, like your nearest Walmart help sponsor the sidewalk? Get several to "purchase" sponsorships: Gold $10k, Silver $5, Bronze $2500, etc. To get to your goal...think of something to give them in return.
Good Luck==and Happy New Year.
Lisa @Tx